An optical layered body including functional layers having various functions is provided on the outermost surfaces of image display devices such as cathode ray tube (CRT) display devices, liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma displays (PDP), and electroluminescence displays (ELD) (Japanese Kokai Publication 2006-126808, Japanese Kokai Publication 2004-69867, Japanese Kokai Publication 2005-107005, and Japanese Kokai Publication 2006-95997). As such an optical layered body, an optical layered body having a layered structure illustrated in FIG. 1, in which an antistatic layer, an antiglare layer and a low refractive index layer is placed in this order on a substrate, are known. This optical layered body has excellent performance in an antistatic property, an antireflection property, and an antiglare property.
In the antistatic layer in such an optical layered body, antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) is widely used as an antistatic agent.
There has been a demand in recent years for improvements in display performance in image display devices with a preventing scintillation property to begin with, and with gloss blackness (a black to gray level is favorable, enabling a clear moving picture), i.e. without white muddiness. In order to correspond to this demand, adjustment for achieving a finer surface roughness of an antiglare layer and a constitution for giving internal scattering properties in a coat are further required as long as the surface performance of the antiglare layer being maintained is not deteriorated.
The antiglare layer resulting from diligent efforts generally produces an effect of increasing light transmittance and image sharpness as a film.
However, formation of an optical layered body including such an antiglare layer superior in light transmittance and image sharpness and a low refractive index layer on an antistatic layer containing ATO, brings to light a problem of deteriorating color reproducibility of images, which has not become a problem due to low transparency. This problem of deteriorating color reproducibility is a problem that occurrence of coloring and interference fringes due to the interaction between the antistatic layer containing ATO and other layers upon light irradiation to transmit or reflect the light results in deterioration of the color reproducibility of images and outstanding fringes upon placing the optical layered body on the surface of a display.